Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement: "It's welcome news that our evacuation flight has now left Wuhan.

"We know how distressing the situation has been for those waiting to leave. We have been working round the clock to clear the way for a safe departure. The welfare of those trapped and public safety have been our overriding priorities."

After landing at Brize Norton, the chartered aircraft will continue to Spain, where the 27 non-British nationals on board will be processed by their EU home governments, the FCO said.

Some Britons in Wuhan had declined to join the repatriation flight after being told any Chinese nationals in their family would be unable to join.

That decision was reversed hours before the plane was due to depart, leaving it too late for some to make it to the airport.

One British teacher, who asked not to be named, said she had stayed behind because her husband was a Chinese national and therefore would not be allowed to join her.

She claimed she had not been told by the Foreign Office of the change of policy, instead of learning of it through messages from other British expats.

A British father has said his family missed an evacuation flight to the UK from Wuhan because they could not get to the airport in time.

Adam Bridgeman told the BBC on Friday that he, his wife and one-month-old son had been unable to find a car to the airport in time to catch the flight.